Margaret Ward Margaret is a leader and former Chair of the Mamre Association in Brisbane, a family support organisation empowering and supporting families with members with disabilities. Mamre pioneered self-directed support models in the 1980s and enabled families to employ their own support workers within conventional funding models. Margaret lives in Brisbane.
Katie Thompson Katie is founder and President of Soul Parents in Northern NSW, a support and empowerment organisation for sole parents and their children that aims to break "the vicious cycle of self-doubt and welfare dependency". Katie is a parent of two teenage boys. She is also active in developing peer-based supports for survivors of domestic and family violence. Katie lives in Ballina.
Simon Towle Simon is CEO of the Gunggandji Aboriginal Corporation in Yarrabah, Far North Queensland. He has worked in natural resource management and community development in northern Queensland, PNG and NZ. He lived on Thursday Island for 3 years and has worked in Kowanyama and the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York. Simon now lives in Cairns.
Liz Clay Liz is an organic farmer in West Gippsland selling direct to the community via farmers markets and the Baw Baw Food Hub Inc - a not-for-profit initiative which aims to provide local food to local people. Liz has been a Board member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, and Chair of the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. Liz lives near Noojee, Victoria.
Thich Thong Phap Thich is an Anglo Australian Buddhist monk active in the Buddhist and multi-faith communities of Hobart. He is the Buddhist Chaplain at the University of Tasmania, and volunteers in supporting individuals in settings from dementia care units to detention centres. He seeks the empowerment of people away from the bureaucratised institutions that dominate our lives. Thich lives in Hobart.
Jenny Green Jenny has volunteered in the not-for-profit sector for over 30 years, primarily in disability services and advocacy. Her paid work is as an academic in the Business School at the University of Technology Sydney, where she is Director of the Postgraduate Community and Not-for-Profit Management Program. Jenny lives in Sydney.
Ansumana Usman Koroma  Ansumana arrived in Australia as a refugee from Africa in 2002, and has settled in Hobart,  where he works in the Department of Premier and Cabinet as a policy analyst. He is a very active contributor to Australian society through Rotary, the Australian Red Cross, and other voluntary associations. He is a member of the Australian African Business Council. Ansumana lives in Glenorchy.
Martin Grillo Martin lives with polio and is a volunteer in several health and disability organisations in Melbourne as his health permits. He is Chair of the Disability Resource Centre, Treasurer of the Disability Discrimination Legal Service, and a Board member of Disability Motorists Australia and Disability Advocacy Victoria. Martin lives in Melbourne.
Rosemary Norman-Hill Rosemary is a Darug woman with extensive experience in indigenous child and family welfare. She is the founder and CEO of Kirrawe Indigenous Corporation on the Gold Coast, which rebuilds lives affected by intergenerational abuse, addictions and child removal. She serves on the board of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and Riding for the Disabled. Rosemary lives on the Gold Coast.
Helen Leafa Helen is a community builder in Cairns. She is a Senior Pastor at The Rock Church, and works as a Team Leader fro Mission Australia. She has founded several NGOs and community projects in Australia and overseas and is passionate about grassroots community development. She has strong relationships with Pacific communities in Australia.  Helen lives in Cairns.
Michael Wearing Michael is a senior lecturer in social work at the University of NSW, and has worked for 30 years in research and evaluation in social welfare and civil society. He co-authored After the Welfare State: Welfare Governance and the Communitarian Revival. He is interested in the relationships between informal and formal social support networks including families and non-profits. Michael lives in Sydney.
Myriam Mailhe Myriam is a small business proprietor in tourism, operating from Brisbane's Fortitude Valley. She migrated to Australia from Europe 33 years ago, and worked for 30 years in community services, both non-government and government agencies. She is interested in civil society as "us" and the kaleidoscope of elements that make up civil society. Myriam lives in Brisbane.
Jasmina Bajraktarevic-Hayward Jasmina arrived in Australia as a refugee from Bosnia in 1993. She became involved with Bosnian refugees in Croatia through Suncokret Centre for Grassroots Relief Work. She now works for the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors. She has learnt that a strong civil society and high social capital are essential for a healthy community. Jasmina lives in Sydney.
Michális Michael Michális is a Senior Research Fellow at La Trobe University and the Acting Director of the Centre for Dialogue. His interest is in strengthening social capital for mutually enriching intercommunal, intercultural, interethnic and interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Australia, including Arab-Australian and Muslim-Australian interactions. Michális lives in Melbourne.
Janelle Tidey Janelle is President and volunteer Coordinator of Connections Community which runs support groups and community networking groups for the aged, people with mental illnesses, parents and men. She is involved in mental health advocacy, community services, education, and Baptist Church networks. Janelle lives in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast.
Rosa Loria Rosa is the Director of Sydney Multicultural Community Services, a not-for-profit organisation which provides settlement, aged care and crisis relief services to CALD communities in Inner West and South East Sydney. She has over 30 years’ experience in managing a multidisciplinary, multicultural community sector organisation. Rosa lives in Sydney.
Deborah Hartman Deborah is an educator and researcher in the Family Action Centre at the University of Newcastle. She is interested in family and social outcomes in education and community services, and has specialised in researching the education of boys in Australia. Deborah is a member of a small intentional community of several families in the Hunter Valley.
Vern Hughes Vern is Director of the Centre for Civil Society. He founded the Social Entrepreneurs Network (Australia - New Zealand) in 2001, and was Director of the Cooperative Federation of Victoria. He is a historian of social, cooperative and distributist movements, with interests in Christian social thought, the personalisation agenda in social policy, and citizen, consumer and family empowerment processes. Vern lives in Melbourne.   © Civil Society Australia 2015-17